Unloved Shinobi
by ThePony
Summary: A series of fics dedicated to the less-loved adult shinobi of Naruto. Paired up with OCs. One shots. WIP. Ratings vary.
1. Raidou: Let Me Show You

Kimiko coaxed him backwards, kissing him, until the side of her bed caught the back of his knees and knocked him sitting on the mattress. She climbed on top of him, straddling his waist and running her tongue against his lips. She was feeling giddy and very satisfied with herself; here was the somewhat shy jounin she had been pursuing for three years, one hand behind her head and the other supporting his upper body off the bed, lips warm on hers. She congratulated herself.

But that she did too soon. She had gotten him out of that vest of his and was about to start ridding him of the very unnecessary shirt when he ripped his lips from hers, sat up and took her wrists.

"Kimi…" he panted, not looking her in the eyes. She felt like puffing in annoyance. She was so close, and _now_ the shinobi self-restraint kicked in.

"What is it?" she asked in an urgent, breathless whisper that surprised even her. She did nothing to try and release her wrists from his grip.

"I don't want you to see it," he muttered, and only now Kimiko noticed that he had turned his head to the left, so that all she could see of his face was smooth, even skin. She let out a sigh, gently twisted her hands out of his and raised them to his cheeks.

"Raidou," she said quietly, trying to turn his head, but he fought back. "Raidou, please. I don't care about your scars."

His eyes shifted to her, but only briefly. He tried to pull his head from between her palms, but she was determined not to let him.

"Listen," she said, "I want to show you I don't mind them." Now he let her straighten his face, but still refused to look into her eyes. She examined the scars that spoiled the skin of the left side of his face and ran along his neck and disappeared under his shirt. She traced them from his nose to his jaw line with affectionate touches. He sighed and shivered slightly, and closed his eyes.

"Please," she continued, pressing her mouth close to his left ear. "Let me show you it's alright. Let me love you."

The jounin finally relaxed, keeping his eyes closed and easing himself to her mercy. She started from the nose, kissing the scars, down to where skin turned to fabric.

"I need your help with this one," she whispered, tugging at the hem of his shirt. Obediently he raised his hands, allowing her to finally remove the cloth. She made herself more comfortable on his lap and slid her hand into his messy hair and her tongue down his neck. He was breathing more deeply now, and also trembled slightly. She continued licking his scars, letting her tongue slide over the uneven skin. The blemishes covered all of his shoulder, some continuing to the back and some to his chest. She kissed, nibbled and licked, enjoying the moans she elicited from him.

"Kimi," he gasped at the spot where his clavicle met his shoulder, and she smirked against his skin. Carefully she nibbled some more on the same spot, earning new groans from him and getting his arm around her waist. He tried to pull her closer, but that was close to impossibility.

Now she moved back up from his shoulder, tracing kisses back up to his face, and there laid her lips on his. His kiss was more passionate now, hungrier, and almost needy.

Gently she pushed him onto his back without breaking the kiss, and then turned her attention to his scars again. Moving down them again she now continued past them, onto his abdomen. When her lips and tongue passed his navel he groaned and bucked his hips upwards.

She returned to his face, kissing it all over, especially the left cheek, leaving her hand to trace the line of his trousers.

"I love you," she whispered to him. Her hand moved past the waistband, and he threw his head back, moaning. "I love you," she repeated.

"Kimiko-!"

"I love you, Raidou," she said, between kisses to his throat and clavicles. "You're perfect."

Soon he came, his hands clenching the sheets, his head back and the shame of the scars forgotten.

The morning found them under the covers, the woman tracing lazy patterns on his chest and the male half asleep.

"How do you feel?" Kimiko asked, glancing up to the jounin's face. Raidou cracked his eyes open only a little and smiled sleepily at her, but didn't say anything. She interpreted it as positive. "See, I've been interested in you for some years now," she explained, turning her gaze back to his skin. She was on her left side, so the scars were mostly out of her range of vision. "I've been flirting with you for about seven months, quite shamelessly at times. I hope you noticed. At least Genma did." Raidou chuckled, and she smiled briefly as well. Well, they wouldn't be here had Genma not insisted that Raidou walk Kimiko home from their dinner.

"I noticed," he said, playing with some strands of her hair. "I just didn't think you were serious. You flirt with quite a few men."

"I do not," she snorted.

"Yes you do," he teased, now opening his eyes a little more and tilting his head a little to see her expression better. "With Izumo, and Kotetsu, and Kakashi – "

"Not fair!" she claimed. "Everyone flirts with Kakashi. No one means it, really."

"I think Mimi from the code breaking office is quite serious about him."

"Oh shut up," she muttered and leaned up to kiss him. He chuckled into her mouth. "Anyway," she said and went back to tracing swirls to his skin, "why wouldn't I have been serious with you?"

"Because of…" But he stopped the sentence before he would finish and looked away from her, ashamed. His hand disappeared from her hair.

Once again she forced him to look at her with a hand on his cheek.

"You thought I wouldn't be serious about you because of your scars?" she demanded, almost mad. He avoided her eyes but nodded.

"They aren't the most appealing thing," he murmured quietly.

"You're an idiot, Namiashi Raidou," she accused. "Why would a couple of scratches keep me from liking you? You don't see yourself. You're the kindest man I've ever known, an amazing ninja, and kami, if you aren't also the sexiest man there can be. So quit that about someone not liking you because of what there is on the outside and let me love you. Just as you are."

Raidou looked at her, mouth slightly agape, eyes shining in the dim light.

"Kimiko," he breathed. She was pouting and felt the prickling in her eyes, but would be damned if she'd cry now.

"I love you, you idiot. And when it comes to these – ," she ran her fingers across his cheek, " – they're a part of you, and I would never want them gone. And you had better accept that."

"I love you," he said after a moment of silence. He kissed her and wrapped her into an embrace that she thought she might always want to be in. Luckily it was still early. Her tell-me-everything date with Anko was still many, many Raidou-filled hours away.

A/N: I couldn't actually find anything that would suggest Raidou's scars go farther than his cheeks, but I hope no one minds. I'm anyway happy about how this one turned out.


	2. Izumo: Interruptions

"So how are you going to go about her?" Kotetsu asked his friend. "You do realise that you have only four days before Ayame comes back, right?"

"I know, I know," Izumo sighed. "But I can't just go there and bluntly ask her out, can I? I don't even know her name!"

"Of course you _could_ go there and bluntly ask her," Kotetsu corrected, smirking. "You just don't have the guts."

Izumo glared at him.

"Because I'm not a horny bastard like you," he retorted.

"Ouch," Kotetsu said, the smirk never disappearing. "At least my method works."

"You're not helping," Izumo grumbled, leaning his chin on his hands.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Look, just go there, order something and chat her up. I can cover you here."

"Really?"

Kotetsu waved his hand indifferently.

"Yeah, no biggie. Just make sure you get the girl."

"Thanks, 'Tetsu! I owe you!" Izumo yelled over his shoulder, already running towards the Ichiraku ramen stand.

"Welcome!" greeted the young woman behind the counter. Her dark hair was up and covered with a white cloth. To Izumo it seemed like her smile lit the whole world. "Take a seat! What can I get for you, sir?"

"Oh, umm," he stumbled, suddenly finding that speaking wasn't as easy as it had been only seconds ago. "I'll have the, ah, prawn ramen, please."

"Coming right up!" she chirped. Izumo watched her move with the pots and pans, admiring her as she stirred the noodles on the stove. The steam from the boiling water surrounded her, making her look softer and her eyes gleaming. Suddenly Izumo became very aware that he was completely alone with her.

"Where's the old man?" he asked, inwardly glad for something to start the conversation with.

"Teuchi-san wasn't feeling well today," she answered, her attention strictly on the food she was making. "He had to stay at home."

"Must be hard to do everything alone," he observed. She turned to him and grinned.

"Not really. It's been a quiet day. You're the first customer, sir."

"Izumo."

"I'm sorry?"

"My name. I'm Kamizuki Izumo."

She laughed, pouring his meal into a bowl.

"I'm so sorry! I'm Satsuki."

"Pretty name," he said and felt like slapping himself. Really, is that everything he could say?

"Thank you." she grinned, pushing the bowl under his nose. "Here you go, Kamizuki-san."

"Thanks."

It was quiet for a while. He slurped slowly on his ramen, and she leaned her elbows to the counter, watching him.

"Where's your friend?" she then asked. Izumo raised a brow, unable to say anything because of the noodles in his mouth. "The one with shaggy hair, a bandage over his nose and a goatee?"

He gulped down the food.

"You mean Kotetsu?" he asked, feeling already his stomach sink. Figured she would've noticed Kotetsu…

"I wouldn't know his name, but I guess that's him," she mused.

"He's on duty," he explained, finishing of his dish.

"Oh," she said. Was that disappointment on her face? He wasn't sure.

"So where do you come from?" he said quickly, desperate to change the subject. "I haven't seen you around before, so I guess you're not from Konoha."

Her face brightened again.

"I come from a little village a bit to north from here," she told him. "Ayame-san is a friend of my sister's, so I agreed to help here while she was gone."

"And do you like Konoha?" Now, depending on her answer, he might have a chance to ask her out…

"Very much so." Yes! "Too bad I'm not here for long. It'd be fun to see more of it."

"If you want, I could – "

"Where's the old man?" came the ear-splitting yell from behind him. Uzumaki Naruto had arrived, with Umino Iruka close behind him. Satsuki giggled.

"You must be Uzumaki-san, correct?" she said. "Teuchi-san has told me about you. He's ill, but I'm sure he'll be back to work in no time. I'll serve you for today. What would you like?"

Naruto plopped down next to Izumo, who glared at the blonde from the corner of his eyes. He was pretty sure his moment was lost.

"Miso!" Naruto announced, already picking up chopsticks.

"And for you, sir?" she smiled at Iruka, who returned the gesture.

"I'll have miso too, if that's alright," the teacher said.

"Coming right up!" she promised and dashed back to her cooking. Iruka sat down next to Naruto, but leaned around him to see Izumo.

"Izumo-san, how come you're here? Aren't you supposed to be at the gates with Kotetsu-san?" he asked, looking mildly surprised. Izumo muttered something unintelligible, left some money on the counter and slipped away from the stand.

"…And just as I was going to ask if she wanted a tour of the village, Naruto and Iruka bumped in there," he told Kotetsu, who was looking thoughtful and nodding.

"Well, naturally she's drawn to me, of course," he then said, flipping his hair in a ridiculously feminine way. "But don't worry, we'll get you a new chance. You just need to go there again tomorrow and try to pick up from where you left."

Izumo muttered to himself, scratching the surface of the counter with a senbon. He had a feeling in his gut that this wasn't going to work at all.

And his gut was not wrong. For the three remaining days he went to Ichiraku's to have lunch and try to ask the pretty Satsuki out. But every time there was something to stop him. Either it was Gai, who would talk loudly about youth and energy and his students, or there would suddenly be a swarm of genin to occupy Satsuki's time, or, as the case was on the last day, Teuchi, who took to standing right next to the woman while Izumo tried to talk with her. It wasn't easy to try and ask a girl out with a protective employer hanging around.

"So what's the plan today?" Kotetsu asked him, shaking him from his bitter thoughts. "Ramen and seduction again?"

"No use," Izumo said after glaring at his friend. "Ayame's back today, so she has left. No use going there. Besides I'm getting sick of ramen."

"Aww, come on!" Kotetsu whined, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "_I_ feel like ramen today. So we'll be both going to Ichiraku's, alright?"

"Fine," Izumo sighed, giving up. Maybe he could try eating this depression away? Could one die if one ate lots of ramen? Death by eating didn't sound too bad.

There were some customers at the ramen stand when they arrived. Kotetsu got them seats and placed their order to Ayame, who smiled her familiar smile at them and passed the order to Teuchi. Izumo kept looking at the table, not in the mood of seeing the familiar kitchen without the perky girl who now officially belonged then, at least in his mind.

"Izumo," Kotetsu said.

"Hmm?"

"Izumo."

"What?" he snapped, raising his head to see his friend. But Kotetsu wasn't looking at him. His eyes were fixed somewhere behind him, and Izumo swirled around to see what was so interesting.

His breathing hitched. His heart skipped a beat. He felt no control of his jaw that was hanging open.

Satsuki was holding up one of the flaps on the entrance, her lips in a wide grin and her dark eyes trained on him.

"I thought you'd be here," she said, stepping inside and letting the flap fall back to its place. Izumo couldn't say a word, nor hear Kotetsu snickering beside him. Behind him both Ayame and Teuchi were grinning. Satsuki stepped closer to him.

"So, Izumo-san," she said, eyeing him playfully. "Could you finish what you've started every day now? I think I'd like to hear it."

Kotetsu had to nudge his ribs before he realised what was going on. He snapped his jaw shut and tried to find any useful words from the bottom of his brain.

"Umm," he began, fighting to keep his thoughts coherent, "if you'd like, I could, um, show you around the village and then, maybe, take you to eat something?"

She smiled a happy, close-eyes smile.

"That'd be very nice, Izumo-san," she said, reaching down for his hand. He barely comprehended what had happened, but he registered that her hand felt very nice around his. "Let's go. I want to see the Hokage Mountain. And then we'll eat." She started dragging him outside. "But not ramen, I guess you must be fed up with ramen by now. Maybe dango?"

"S-sound good," he stuttered. Then something popped up in his mind and he turned to yell: "Kotetsu! What about our shift?"

"I'll cover for you!" his friend's voice called after him. "Just enjoy your date!"

Yeah, Izumo thought, glancing at the girl next to him, chattering away. I think I will.

A/N: I really need a better title. It'll change as soon as I can think of something else. Suggestions are welcome.


	3. Baki: Give It A Shot

Baki watched her mingle with the other shinobi of Sunagakure, chatting and laughing and sipping her drink. She looked astoundingly beautiful as always, even in her jounin uniform. Her head was covered with a round hat to ward off the hot sun of the desert, but the same sun made the sandy brown ends of her hair shine. Her hands were moving in animate conversation with some young chuunin Baki had never met.

He himself was standing alone in the shadow of a canvas awning, water on the rocks in his hands, at the moment unwilling to engage in any kind of social merrymaking. Instead he chose to daydream of her. Izumi had been in his thoughts for quite some time now, but there was nothing he intended to do about it. He was eight years her senior, in his thirties, and she was barely out of her mid-twenties. Sure, they had worked together on a couple of occasions and got along brilliantly, but there was no way he could approach her in a romantic sense.

"Baki-sensei?"

He turned and bowed lightly to his old students, the Kazekage's siblings Kankuro and Temari. Kankuro seemed to be on one of his cheerful moods, where Temari looked like she would rather be doing something else.

"How are you, sensei?" Kankuro asked, switching his gaze between Baki and the gathered ninja. "What, is there someone you don't like?"

"No, not at all," Baki let himself laugh. "No, I was just thinking about something serious. Don't you worry."

"Alright," the cheerful puppeteer smiled. Then he looked once again at the others in the sun. "Ooh! There's Izumi-chan! I'll go say hello! You coming, Temari?"

"Nah," his sister decided. "You go. It's too hot in there."

Kankuro bowed to his sensei and then skipped over to the kunoichi in the hat. A little jealous, Baki watched him start a conversation with Izumi, who laughed and shoved him playfully on the shoulder, a blush on her cheeks.

"Are you watching Izumi-chan again, sensei?" Temari asked indifferently. Baki almost choked on the water he had been swallowing and looked wide-eyed at his student. Temari's face betrayed nothing.

"What?" he asked after a fit of coughs. "Why – why would I be watching her?"

"Please, Baki-sensei," Temari snorted, now looking at him. "I've known you for years, and besides that I guess it's woman's intuition. You like her, don't you?"

"I, umm," Baki stuttered, caught off guard, and then gathered himself. "You must be imagining things, Temari," he said in a voice he prayed sounded certain and just the slightest bit amused.

"I wonder," Temari said. Kankuro and Izumi's conversation seemed to have taken a more serious turn now, as neither was smiling. A blush, though, still lingered on the woman's face. "I'll just say this, sensei: you should talk to her about it."

"How could I?" Baki muttered, his eyes again on the blushing cheeks and the nodding head. She looked so adorable when she was determined… "She's only 26. I'm too old for her."

"You're not old, sensei," Temari said confidently. "Besides, many women prefer their men a little older and more seasoned. Give it a shot." She stretched her hands up above her head. "Well, I'm going home now, I've got better things to do than stand here convincing you to act on your feelings. Bye, Baki-sensei. I'll see you at the council next week."

When the sun dropped low and the cold night wind wiped over the dunes the ninja started to head home after a nice but long day of meeting old friends and exchanging news. Baki was among the last to leave, mostly because so many wanted to have a brief word with him before leaving. Some of it was about the upcoming council meeting, some was personal, but it was the last one that really meant something to him.

Izumi stood there, in her hat and uniform, biting her lip and making his heart double its pace with the look in her eyes.

"Baki-san, I hate to ask, but could you walk me home?" she asked, looking him in the eyes, pleading. "It's so dark, I really don't want to go alone."

"Of course," Baki promised, trying his best to keep his exterior composed and calm. Her smile almost crumbled his attempts. He briefly thought he should have received a medal for his efforts.

"Thank you!" she beamed. They took off, walking slowly and in silence along the empty streets.

Temari's words wouldn't leave him alone. They kept repeating in his mind, and he was soon lost in them. Should he really do something about the situation? Maybe he shouldn't. But maybe…

"Izumi-san," he said, surprising and scaring himself. He had spoken before he had thought it through.

"Yes, Baki-san?" she asked, her intense brown eyes watching him now. He swallowed.

"I- There's something I think I need to discuss with you," he finally continued. She nodded, her expression expectant. He took a deep breath. To hell with it. "I've been having these… feelings towards you for a while now. I just wanted to let you know."

It was silent for a while again.

"I like you too, Baki-san," her quiet voice then replied. He looked at her warily.

"I don't mean just liking you, Izumi-san," he warned her. To his surprise she snorted.

"I don't mean that either, Baki-san. I'm not a child, you know." She smiled now, but didn't look at him. "I don't know if I _love_ you, but I would like to try it out with you. If you'd like," she hastily added, blushing so brightly her could see it even in the desert night. "I mean, I'm so young, and you're such a good man, and I understand it if you want someone more mature – "

"Wait a minute," Baki said, stopping in his tracks. She did the same, her eyes still turned towards the sand. He examined her carefully while speaking. "I know I love you, but it's me who's too _old_ for you. And I'm not as good a man as you might think. I can be coarse and cruel."

"Only to your enemies," she said, snapping her head up. "And how could you be too old for me? Eight years isn't that much in the end. We're both adults." A moment's hesitation. "So, would you like to try?"

He had never expected he would think for a second, but he did.

"Yes," he then said. Boldened by her behaviour he stepped close to her and snaked his arm around her waist. And just as his confidence was about to falter her kicked in and she pulled him into a kiss more fiery than he had ever dared to dream. Her lips moulded against his, tongues met, they were both trying to pull the other closer. Her leg slipped between his and he growled into her mouth when her knee pressed against his groin.

"Is your house far?" he mumbled into her ear. He was already panting.

"Too far," she whispered, clawing his back, her lips finding his neck and latching to it.

"Mine's just around the corner," he told her in a register low with burning passion. With that he picked her up and carried her to his rooms.

It was probably the best, most pleasurable night of his entire life, Baki mused when he woke up in the wee hours of the morning. Izumi lay against his side, her right arm across his chest. She was asleep, her warm breathing tickling the skin of his shoulder. And kami, was this woman beautiful. He was glad there was no moon tonight, because in the silvery light would've made her look so supernatural and ethereal that Baki wouldn't have believed her real. With a content sigh he leaned his cheek against the top of her head, closed his eyes and slipped back to sleep.

"So, I take it you put your plan in motion," Temari said to her brother from behind her cup of coffee. Kankuro smirked and sat down opposite to her.

"Of course I did," he said. "I had no idea she was so shy about it, but she agreed to ask Baki-sensei to see her home."

"I gave sensei some encouragement, too," Temari confessed, sipping the black beverage. "I'm just dying to know who did the first move. We need to ask them when we next see them."

"Izumi's supposed to be receiving a new mission today," Kankuro informed her, his mouth full of cereal. "I'll torment her a little."

"You do that," Temari agreed.

The Sand siblings enjoyed their breakfast in comfortable silence, in celebration of work well done.

A/N: Aww, I think Baki deserves so much more love than he gets.


	4. Genma: Broken Woman

_Crash_!

Genma sighed behind the door. This was going to be very, _very_ difficult. Before the incident Keiko would've been easy to handle. Actually, there wouldn't have been anything to handle: either she wouldn't have reacted this strongly or the bastard wouldn't have left her. But running what-ifs through his head wasn't doing any good. The situation had to be faced, and, by the orders of the Fifth Hokage, calmed down.

"Keiko?" he called after knocking on the wooden door. Another _crash_ sounded inside.

"Go away!" shrieked the familiar voice. He had heard her screaming so many times in the last three weeks he probably wouldn't even understand her if she talked in a normal tone of voice.

"I won't," he said firmly, already removing the senbon from his mouth and pocketing it carefully. It would hurt like hell if it got into his throat. "I'm coming in. I don't want to be thrown with anything, got it?"

No answer inside. Genma braced himself and pushed the door open.

Almost immediately a plate came crashing against the wall two inches from his head. He thanked his luck Keiko's aim had been affected, too, and quickly made his way to the woman before she got the chance to find something else to let fly. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, locking her arms against her sides and raising her upward a little so that her feet were barely touching the ground. Good thing she was so short, otherwise this would have been difficult.

"Alright, calm down," he said to the trashing woman. This was the sixth time he had been sent to see that she wouldn't harm herself or others and he knew how she reacted.

"Let me go!" she screamed, trying her hardest to get out of his grip.

"I don't think so," Genma snorted, dodging her elbow as it almost contacted his ear. Already familiar with the apartment he carried her to her bed, threw her down on it and sat on her legs while pinning her hands above her head.

"You need to calm down," he instructed the squirming female. "Keiko, listen to me. I can't let go until I know what's going on in your head. You know that because we have been through this before."

She glared at him but stopped struggling. Genma, however, didn't let go of her: her body was still tense.

"Tell me what's bothering you," he commanded. He knew what it was, having run to Ryuugi a couple of hours before, but it would do her good to get everything off her mind.

"None of your business," she hissed and then spat at him. Once again, her aim wasn't what it had been, and she got the outer right corner of his eye. He used his shoulder to get most of it off.

"Come on, Keiko," he sighed. "You remember when you told me about having to quit being a ninja? That helped then, right?"

She was debating with herself, he could see it. The Sound ninja had truly messed her up. She had been captive for eleven days and undergone torture Genma wouldn't even start to imagine the pain of. Back in Konoha Lady Tsunade had examined her and brought bad news for all of her friends: most of her frontal lobe had been paralyzed, which caused her whole personality to change. The once so calm and gentle woman had turned into an irresponsible, difficult and aggressive being. It was clear she couldn't work as a ninja anymore, not when no one could trust her behaviour. She had lost her friends one at a time, and now her boyfriend, the most important person in her life, had had it with her.

"Alright," she agreed, biting her lip. "I'll tell you. Let me go."

"Tell me first," he said, but loosened the grip of his hands a little. "This is about Ryuugi, correct?"

"Yes," she agreed. She kept staring into his eyes with her green ones. Genma was almost sure there was a speck of sadness in them, somewhere deep. "He came here in the morning, we had coffee and then sex." Genma fought down a grimace. She had also been terribly blunt since she had woken up in the hospital. "Then…"

But now she suddenly looked like she could burst into tears.

"Then?" he tried to lead her onwards.

"He just said he didn't want to be with me anymore," she said, her voice trembling. "He said that I'm ghastly now, and that I'm a freak, and that you hang around me too much."

Genma couldn't believe it. She hadn't cried after being returned to Konoha. She had had panic attacks, she had been mad like a maniac, she had laughed at people's faces when there wasn't anything to laugh about. But here she was now, wailing and sobbing and trying to hide her face.

"Hey," Genma said carefully, scrutinising her face. She had crunched her eyes shut and her cheeks were already wet with tears. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay."

"No it's not!" she screamed and started trashing again. "Go away! You're the reason he left me! Get out, get out, get _out_!"

"Hey!" Genma yelled, pushing her hands tighter against the covers. "Hey! Stop that, girl! Listen to me!"

"Why should I?" she shouted. "Get off me, you son of a bitch!"

"Stop it!"

She froze. Genma realised this was the first time he had actually lost it with her. She was staring at him with wide eyes, completely still under him. Had he really managed to shock her to silence?

Then she started screaming. She screamed and screamed, high pitched and clearly in pain. Her body started trashing in a different way, not against him but against itself.

"Keiko!" Genma shouted over her screaming. "Keiko, it's alright! Try to calm down!"

No effect. She kept screaming, and he finally released her hands. They immediately reached to her face, clawing at her cheeks and the collar of her shirt. Quickly he fished two senbon from the pocket of his vest and applied both of them to two chakra points on her shoulder. It took him almost ten minutes, but finally he had pushed the needles in each and every one of her chakra outlets. Her body went limb and she was taking in deep breaths, her eyes red with tears and blood running from the tiny pinpricks on her pale skin.

Genma pocketed the senbon again, panting himself. He had done this twice before already. The pain attacks had come along the personality change. Even the Hokage didn't know exactly what was behind them, but she suspected a neurological dysfunction that caused all her chakra to press against the outlets that would not open. That was why Genma was often sent to see what she was doing; everyone knew he carried his senbon around.

"Hurts so much," Keiko whimpered, eyes still closed. She was shaking. Genma rose from her legs, sat on the edge of the bed and hoisted her to his lap.

"Shh," he hushed her, swaying her slowly. "It's going to be okay. I'm right here, don't worry. Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

She only shook her head furiously, clutched to the front of his vest and pushed her head against his chest. With a sigh he laid his chin on her dark hair. These were the moments when she was her easiest. Weak from the pain, crying, clinging, trusting. It was wrong to feel relief when she was this miserable, he admitted that freely, but it always felt so nice to just hold her. She was warm against him, and he wanted to protect her from the world. The silence after all the shouting and screaming rang and soothed at the same time.

Twenty minutes later she had fallen asleep. Genma slid his other arm under her knees and lifted her from his lap only to put her fully down on the bed. He placed her head on the closest pillow and drew the covers over her. For a while he just stood there watching her. She was a pretty girl, he had to admit, taking in her thick hair, parted pink lips and delicate face that was only starting to round up after severe malnourishment. Without thinking much he bent down, laying down his other arm to prop him up, and kissed her lightly. It felt good, and without thinking he deepened the kiss slightly.

Then, as suddenly as he had leaned down, he snapped up. Bad idea – if Keiko had woken up there would've been another tantrum, more broken pieces of furniture and maybe a new attack of pains. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, found that it didn't help and cursed under his breath. Well, he might as well get to cleaning, now that she was asleep. He wouldn't want her to step on the shards of broken china when she got up. He wouldn't want her to get hurt.

As he made his way back home Genma had time to think, rolling his senbon from one side of his lips to the other. Lady Tsunade had said she might, in time, gain some of her original personality, seeing as the frontal lobe wasn't damaged, only paralysed. There was no knowing what would happen then. But he doubted she would take her now ex-boyfriend back; the word on the streets was that they weren't exactly the happiest couple. Genma raised his eyes to the clouds and sighed. Maybe, if she ever got better, and remembered all that had happened – it wasn't sure she would – he might have a chance with her. Just maybe. And the thought made his lips tug to a smile.

He would need to visit Keiko tomorrow anyway, to see how she was taking the break-up after the first shock. He could pop by Yamanaka's on his way. Some sunflowers should cheer her up, whatever her personality.

A/N: This is from a storyline I started to write but found I was too lazy to finish. It works in this short bit, too, I think. Hope you liked it.


	5. Yamato: Break Up, Make Up

Taking a deep breath and letting it out Yamato twirled the glass in his hands. The bar was empty save the bartender and a couple of drunks who were grumbling something to each other in their corner. This wasn't the classiest of places, but it was closest to his apartment. Empty apartment, he added in his mind. He still wasn't used to these lonely days and nights. Hoshi used to come by; they'd drink some good sake, talk and laugh and kiss, and more often than not end up shredding some perfectly good clothes to pieces in the heat of the night.

But not anymore. She had been with him two days before, already irritated by her bossy mother, and Yamato had made the grave error of informing her of the month-long mission he was going to take on. There had been yelling and accusations flying all night, and finally she had burst and told him she couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to see him anymore, she didn't want to come second to him, she didn't have to take his neglect anymore. He had said things he now regretted, but, as always, it was too late.

Even if they had been having more fights than usual over these past two months he hadn't seen it coming. Every time they had made up, made out, made love and then, a few hours of sleep later, made breakfast. He wondered why he hadn't realised they were so on edge. Was he really so inattentive to her he didn't even know what was going on with her anymore?

He knocked back the rest of his scotch and waved for another glass.

"Sorry, mister, but I'm not giving you anymore," the bartender said, prying the glass out of his hands. "You can't walk straight anymore, I can see that. You should probably go home and have some sleep."

"I'm not going there," he contradicted, voice slurring even in his own ears. "She's not there."

"Sorry to hear that, sir, but there's nothing alcohol can do," the bartender shrugged. Yamato huffed and got ready to try his wobbling feet, when the door opened and closed.

"Evening, miss," the bartender said, nodding. Yamato paid no attention to the woman behind him before she spoke.

"Yamato."

He turned his head and tried to focus on the brown haired woman. It wasn't easy, because there were three of them.

"What?" he asked bluntly, pushing himself up from the stool and swaggering slightly. The woman sighed and grabbed his arm.

"I was told you would be here. Come on, I'll take you home."

"No!" Yamato yanked his arm from her, swaggering some more. "You'll just leave if I let you take me home."

"I won't," she promised, gently taking back his arm. "I'll stay with you. Just come on."

He let her walk him out of the bar, through the dark streets, up the stairs and into his rooms. She left him sitting on the couch as she went to close the door. When she came back she found him trying to remove his shirt.

"Let me," she said when it got stuck on his head. She pulled it off and threw it on the floor. His eyes were hazy from the liquor as he peered at her from between his almost closed lids.

"You came back," he muttered, struggling to produce intelligible words.

"Yeah," Hoshi admitted, brushing his cheek with her hand. "I'm sorry I got so upset."

"I missed you," he whispered, leaning towards her. His breath reeked of alcohol.

"I missed you too," she assured him, pushing him back against the backrest. He pulled her to his lap with greater effort than when sober.

"I love you," he murmured to her neck, nuzzling it. "You shouldn't go away."

"I won't do that again," she said, rubbing his scalp affectionately. He groaned and suddenly pulled her lips to his. She tried to cut the kiss short, disgusted by the taste of whiskey, but the need and urgency of his every move made her give up the idea. So she just went with the kiss, only to end up laying under him, her clothes gone and his hands roaming every inch of her body.

It was thirst that woke Yamato up. He sat up, felt the headache and bad taste in his mouth and decided that quick movement would be out of the question for a while. It took him a minute to realise there was something warm against his thigh. A little surprised he turned his gaze around.

First, he wasn't in his bed, nor at the bar he last remember being at. He was on his own couch. Second, he was naked. His clothes were all by the couch, though he was sure they weren't all his. Third, a woman was sleeping next to him, her back tightly pressed against the backrest of the couch. Warmth filled Yamato; his Hoshi was back. How, he couldn't remember, but it didn't matter.

She stirred and opened her eyes.

"Morning," he said quietly, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Morning," she answered, sitting up slowly, stretching her shoulders. Her voice was gruff from sleep.

"What… happened?" he asked, examining her movements. She kept stretching her back. Sleeping in so cramped a place must have stiffened her.

"You don't remember, huh?" She lifted a brow and yawned. "Well, you were getting shit-faced at the bar down the street, Genma saw you and told me, I came to get you because I felt bad about our argument. I'm sorry about that, really. I brought you home and, well, I don't think my new shirt survived."

His cursed under his breath.

"What's the matter?" she asked with a cautious note. "You didn't want to make up?"

"It's not that," he hastened to assure her. "I couldn't be happier to have you here. But I can't believe you came to get me and we probably had a great night and I can't remember a bit of it."

Her face went blank.

"Are you saying you don't remember anything?" she asked.

He hoped the sheepish grin would placate her. It probably did, because she smirked and pulled him on top of her.

"Why then, Yamato-sama," she said and looked very satisfied when a shiver run down his spine at the honorific, "I'll just have to remind you, won't I?" And with that she grabbed his hair and kissed him, and he happily complied. Suddenly she pulled away, however, and made a face.

"Brush your teeth first," she commanded him. With a pout he got up and went to perform the tasks asked of him.

With the toothbrush in his mouth he glanced at the mirror. His hair was tussled, he had dark bags under his eyes and he looked extremely tired, but he couldn't help but grin at the reflection. There was a gorgeous, naked woman on his couch waiting for him.

A/N: Not the beast one, though I like the latter half of it.


	6. Kotetsu: Bittersweet

Tsubame furrowed her brows. There went Kotetsu again, flirting with some girl she didn't recognise and thus deducted she was not a Konoha resident. She was pretty, she had to admit, and Kotetsu had always liked blondes, so this time it was understandable he showed interest. But that didn't mean she liked it one bit. But because she had been sent to summon him to the Hokage's help she had no choice but to stand there and wait until he was done.

"I hope I'll be seeing you around," Kotetsu finally said with a wink. The new girl giggled and twirled her hair in her fingers, blew him a kiss and left, but not without looking behind her one more time.

"Tsubame-chan!" Kotetsu grinned, beaming at her. "What brings you here?"

"The Hokage asked for your help," she said, glaring at him.

"Then let's go!" he said, already taking a step out of the gate guard booth when Tsubame stopped him.

"You're on duty here," she said sternly.

"But my first duty is to my Hokage, right?"

"Yes, but that's no excuse to leave the gate unwatched. Where's Izumo?"

"He went to get lunch," he answered, pouting. "Look, he'll be back in a minute, we might as well go."

"If he'll be back in a minute, then we can wait for him before we leave."

"Aww, but Tsutsu-chan – "

"No."

Her poisonous stare silenced him save a few grumbles and he sat back into his chair. Neither spoke a word for a good while, but then her cold attitude got to him. He shuffled a bit on his chair, but as that failed to get her attention he decided to speak.

"Tsutsu-chan," he said, glancing at her. She wouldn't look at him. "Tsutsu-chan, are you mad at me?"

"We'll talk later," she only snapped. Kotetsu sighed. Izumo could just hurry up…

"Tsubame-chan, what are you doing here?" Izumo asked as he returned to his post, immediately picking up on the frosty silence.

"I came to collect Kotetsu, Tsunade wants to see him. Can you manage alone here for a while?" she asked, her soft tone so obviously fake Izumo wondered why she even bothered to try.

"Yeah, sure. You guys go," he smiled. Tsubame returned the kind gesture, though it looked rather forced, and dragged Kotetsu with her. Izumo hoped his friend would return in one piece. Tsubame looked pissed off.

"Tsutsu-chan," Kotetsu tried again. She was trying to walk ahead of him, but was failing rather miserably. He had no trouble keeping up with her and her short legs. "Are you ma – "

"Later!" she hissed, now half jogging to keep some distance between them. Kotetsu sighed and expanded his strides, making her attempts to be completely in vain.

The moment of 'later' came when he stepped out of the Hokage's office, burdened with a pile of paperwork Tsunade had gleefully delegated to him. Tsubame was waiting outside the door and upon seeing him she took his arm and dragged him to a toilet close by, locking the door behind them. The paperwork was left on the hallway floor, scattered.

Kotetsu grasped at the moment to speak as soon as the lock had clicked.

"Tsutsu, what is it?" he asked, dropping the honorific now that they were alone. "You're mad at me, aren't you?"

"I'm not mad," she muttered, her arms defensively folded over her chest. He grinned.

"Then you must be jealous," he observed with a bemused voice. She looked like she could kill him.

"Of course I am," she said slowly. "How could I not be? My boyfriend spends his time flirting with other girls."

"Hey, it was you who didn't want to go public," he pointed out, folding his own arms. "I'm just keeping up the cover."

"You know why we can't go public!" she said, her voice rising in volume. "My family doesn't approve of you!"

"Sweetie," he said with a sigh, unfolding his arms and holding them out towards her. "I know that, but if we don't want to raise any suspicions, I need to keep flirting with other girls like I've always done. People would notice if I wouldn't. Izumo already suspects something."

She accepted his embrace now, wrapping her own arms around his waist and breathing in his scent from his vest.

"The only girl you should be flirting with is me," she muttered. "I hate my parents. 'You need to marry at least a jounin, Tsuba. You should get yourself a wealthy man, Tsuba. Try to predict who's going to be the next Hokage and seduce him, Tsuba.'"

Kotetsu gripped her tighter. He was capable of jealousy as well, and sure as hell didn't like to hear what kind of a man her family wanted her to have – especially when none of the descriptions applied to him.

"I won't give you up," he muttered hotly into her ear. "No matter what your father or mother says. You'll be 21 in two months, right? Two months left, and then they have no say in your life."

"That's a long time," she complained, nuzzling his chest.

"We'll make it," he promised. Reluctantly, he added: "I have to go. That paperwork is lying around and if Tsunade sees it, I'm dead."

"Okay," she agreed, leaning in to kiss him. It was bittersweet, as their kisses almost always were.

Finally the seventh of April came around. Kotetsu woke up bright and early, more awake than usually. He had been anticipating this day for a long time. Now he got up, showered, put on clothes he had washed and ironed the day before and, as he had taken the day off, made his way towards the Kurita household.

Slightly nervous, he rang the doorbell. He heard it chime through the large house, and it took some time before quick footsteps came to the door. Three locks clicked before the door was opened by a man.

"Yes?" the man asked, eyeing Kotetsu distastefully.

"I'm Hagane Kotetsu. I'm here to see Kurita Tsubame –san," Kotetsu told the man, straightening up a little.

"I'll announce you," the man grumbled, turned and closed the door to Kotetsu's face. A little unsure about how this was going to work, Kotetsu stood on the steps and did some quick meditative exercises he had picked up from Hayate. It was most probably that the whole family was home, and he would need his calm to deal with them.

A few moments later the door opened again, and a man who was at least four inches taller than Kotetsu, and probably as much wider, glared at him.

"What do you want with my daughter?" he boomed. Kotetsu had, of course, recognised Tsubame's father at once. She had the same nose and brows as he.

"I came to take her out for her birthday," Kotetsu announced, trying to stand a bit taller.

"Is that right?" Mr Kurita sneered. "And what makes you think she will want to go with you?"

"We love each other," Kotetsu said, and as the words fell from his mouth he felt a flash of warmth in the pit of his stomach. Yes, how about that, Kurita-san?

But the man was grinning, and Kotetsu couldn't understand why.

"Really, now?" he said, mirthful laughter in his voice. "Well then, let's ask her. Tsubame!"

He yelled that last word behind him into the house. Soon Tsubame stood by her father, eyes fixed on the ground.

"I'm here, father," she murmured. Kotetsu tried to catch her eye, but it proved impossible.

"This young man here says you two are in love," Mr Kurita said lightly, almost playfully. "Is that true?"

Kotetsu smirked slightly. Mr Kurita would finally hear the truth.

"No, father."

And there went his heart, as if pierced with a red-hot kunai. He could feel his mouth hanging open, his hands hanging limp, his legs barely supporting him.

"And do you want to go with him today?" Mr Kurita asked triumphantly.

"No, father," Tsubame answered.

"Well, there you go, Hagane," her father smirked. "Now, I'm sure you'll excuse us. We have a – "

"Tsutsu," Kotetsu said suddenly, his voice struggling a bit, but when he continued it had the strength of urgency. "Tsutsu, what's going on? Look at me!"

"I'll have to ask you to leave our propert – "

"Tsutsu, what's happened? Why won't you look at me? Are you alright?"

"Just go, Kotetsu," she muttered, finally raising her face for him to see. Her eyes were red and puffy, and the tear stripes on her cheeks were prominent.

"I won't!" he yelled, taking a step towards her, but her father was between them in a flash.

"Leave," he commanded. "We are waiting for a guest and have a wedding to plan, and you are wasting our time."

Yet another word that seemed to rip open his chest.

"Wedding?" he questioned, his voice breaking slightly. He turned to look at Tsubame, to see from her eyes whether he had heard right, but she had dropped her gaze back down.

"Masao will see you out," was her father's last statement before he guided his daughter back inside. The servant who had opened the door bowed mockingly at Kotetsu and then slammed the door shut.

Kotetsu stood on the steps for quite some time, digesting the information he had gathered. Tsubame was obviously getting married. To whom, he didn't know, but that hardly mattered. Knowing her parents it was someone rich, or at least someone with position. The way Tsubame had acted suggested that she wasn't happy about the situation either. That meant that something had to be done.

He had consulted Anko, Yugao, Izumo, Hayate, and Genma, and had come to the conclusion that he needed to act. All five had promised to help him, but what he planned didn't require more than one person. After some planning he had decided on a course of action, and come evening he left his apartment for the Kurita residence.

There were bright lights lit in the dining room, just as he had expected. Most of the rest of the house was dark. Breaking in through a window without being detected was child's play for a ninja, and he was soon rushing down a dark corridor to the door where some light shone through. He stopped behind it, listening closely to the clatter of chopsticks and bowls, the general chatter and a booming laughter that no doubt belonged to Tsubame's father.

He slid the door open in one quick movement and stepped into the room. A woman shrieked, toppling over a glass, the two men sprang to their feet, and the girl – Tsubame – snapped her head towards the door, looking surprised.

"You!" roared Mr Kurita, looking furious. "How dare you intrude in my house? Out!"

"No," Kotetsu said. His eyes flickered to the other man. He was at least the same age as Tsubame's father, with a protruding stomach and thin hair. He looked confused, but also very displeased.

"Out! Get out, now!"

"I'm not leaving without Tsubame," Kotetsu said, his blood boiling.

"Kotetsu!" Tsubame breathed. Her expression betrayed a hint of agony amongst the surprise.

"You're late," the other man said in a calm, self-pleased voice. "The contract was signed only minutes ago."

Kotetsu ground his teeth.

"You can't have her," he declared loudly.

"Ah, but you see, I already have her," the man replied. A smile did nothing to improve his looks, not with the yellowing teeth visible. "She's my property now, both her mind _and_ body."

A slight laugh cut through the tense atmosphere. The three men and the petrified woman turned to look at the girl, who was now wearing a crooked smile.

"You could never have had my mind," she said in a chuckle, "and my body is already Kotetsu's."

"Nonsense, girl!" her father yelled.

"I'm not a virgin, father," she said, now looking at Kotetsu. He saw her cheeks beginning to flame, and could feel the heat on his own cheeks.

"What?" shouted the fiancé, turning stern eyes to Mr Kurita. "You swore she was untouched!"

But Mr Kurita was not listening.

"You let him into your bed?" he roared at his daughter. She flinched, but held her ground, which seemed to infuriate her father even further. Kotetsu, who was only now beginning to see that the fight was about to end in victory, noticed the vein on his forehead pulsing with increased heartbeat.

"I have never been insulted like this!" screamed Tsubame's suitor. "You have disgraced me! I demand that the contract be burned!"

"Hatori-san, surely there is no reason to – " Mr Kurita tried to amend, but to no avail. Hatori could not be persuaded to change his mind.

After the two older men had left the room, one begging the other to reconsider, and the woman had scrambled after them, Tsubame stood up from her place and Kotetsu hurried to wrap his hands around her. She returned the embrace, sighing and laying her head on his chest.

"Thanks for coming," she muttered. "I would've told them anyway, though, but it was easier with you here."

"Why didn't you tell your dad in the first place?" he asked, running his hand through her dark hair.

"He only told me about this this morning," she told him. "I guess I could've told him then, but he would've had time to think of a way to sugar-coat it to that horrible man. I thought it better to take him unawares."

Kotetsu nodded his understanding. For a while they just stood there, holding each other close, listening to the sounds from the house. Thumps, yelling, several pairs of footsteps.

"He's going to throw me out," Tsubame said. Kotetsu pulled slightly away from her, just enough to be able to see her face.

"You're of course going to stay with me."

"That's what I was planning on. I've got my things packed upstairs."

Kotetsu chuckled.

"Good. Let's get them and go."

Close to midnight they were sitting on the roof of the building part of which Kotetsu's apartment was. It was fairly clear night, the moon was a week waning, and the spring weather was warm enough for them to be comfortable just snuggling close together.

Now, whenever they kissed, it was only sweet.


End file.
